Liberals and Trump – The New York Times

To the Editor: Fierce opposition is nothing new to President Trump. He survived some very well-funded Republican competitors plus the Clinton machine. What his critics fail to realize is the effect of all their opposition. It helped get him elected.

To the Editor: Your news analysis portrays liberals as meanspirited and alienating and Trump supporters as beleaguered and misunderstood based only on anecdotes. Moderate voters undoubtedly are more likely to support liberal causes if their concerns are acknowledged by those resisting the autocratic actions of this Republican administration. To suggest that isn’t happening anywhere is wrong.

I live in a town that Donald Trump won. My neighbors are Trump supporters, and I have reached out to them to engage in dialogue. Daily interactions at the corner store are as friendly as always. The behavior that upset people interviewed for the article isn’t limited to liberals and isn’t caused by being liberal. It’s rudeness, and that occurs across the political spectrum.

Universalizing individual behavior to prove a point doesn’t work. Look at the poll numbers that show support for President Trump falling steadily among independent voters. Some of us liberals must be doing something right.

GRACE MATTERN

Northwood, N.H.

To the Editor: Liberals who oppose President Trump should of course argue from facts and policy without insulting Trump supporters. But I don’t think that the anecdotes presented in the news analysis represent a trend, nor can liberals be blamed for them. I think that what we are seeing here is cognitive dissonance: When true believers are presented with evidence that their cause is wrong, they respond by doubling down and becoming even more committed to their cause.

One of the right’s favorite tactics is to claim victim status (I’m being prevented from following my religion! Those people are getting benefits…